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Mumbai
Mumbai is the largest city in India, and the province of Maharashtra. History Early History Mumbai is built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands: Isle of Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island(also known as Little Colaba).55 It is not exactly known when these islands were first inhabited. Pleistocene sediments found along the coastal areas around Kandivali in northern Mumbai suggest that the islands were inhabited since the South Asian Stone Age.56 Perhaps at the beginning of the Common Era, or possibly earlier, they came to be occupied by the Koli fishing community.5758 In the third century BCE, the islands formed part of the Maurya Empire, during its expansion in the south, ruled by the Buddhist emperor Ashoka of Magadha.59 The Kanheri Caves in Borivali were excavated in the mid-third century BCE,60 and served as an important centre of Buddhism in Western India during ancient Times.61 The city then was known as Heptanesia (Ancient Greek: A Cluster of Seven Islands) to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE.62 The Mahakali Caves in Andheri were built between the 1st century BCE and the 6th century CE.6364 Between the second century BCE and ninth century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties: Satavahanas, Western Satraps, Abhira, Vakataka, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas,65 before being ruled by the Shilaharas from 810 to 1260.66 Some of the oldest edifices in the city built during this period are the Jogeshwari Caves (between 520 and 525),67 Elephanta Caves(between the sixth to seventh century),68 Walkeshwar Temple (10th century),6970 and Banganga Tank (12th century).7172 King Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century and established his capital in Mahikawati (present day Mahim).73 The Pathare Prabhus, among the earliest known settlers of the city, were brought to Mahikawati from Saurashtra in Gujarat around 1298 by Bhimdev.74 The Delhi Sultanateannexed the islands in 1347–48 and controlled it until 1407. During this time, the islands were administered by the Muslim Governors of Gujarat, who were appointed by the Delhi Sultanate.7576 The islands were later governed by the independent Gujarat Sultanate, which was established in 1407. The Sultanate's patronage led to the construction of many mosques, prominent being the Haji Ali Dargah in Worli, built in honour of the Muslim saint Haji Ali in 1431.77 From 1429 to 1431, the islands were a source of contention between the Gujarat Sultanate and the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan.7879 In 1493, Bahadur Khan Gilani of the Bahmani Sultanate attempted to conquer the islands but was defeated.80 Portuguese and British rule The Mughal Empire, founded in 1526, was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent during the mid-16th century.81 Growing apprehensive of the power of the Mughal emperor Humayun, Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese Empire on 23 December 1534. According to the treaty, the Seven Islands of Bombay, the nearby strategic town of Basseinand its dependencies were offered to the Portuguese. The territories were later surrendered on 25 October 1535.82 The Portuguese were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their Roman Catholic religious orders in Bombay.83 They called the islands by various names, which finally took the written form Bombaim. The islands were leased to several Portuguese officers during their regime. The Portuguese Franciscans and Jesuits built several churches in the city, prominent being the St. Michael's Church at Mahim(1534),84 St. John the Baptist Church at Andheri (1579),85 St. Andrew's Church at Bandra (1580),86 and Gloria Church at Byculla(1632).87 The Portuguese also built several fortifications around the city like the Bombay Castle, Castella de Aguada (Castelo da Aguada or Bandra Fort), and Madh Fort. The English were in constant struggle with the Portuguese vying for hegemony over Bombay, as they recognised its strategic natural harbour and its natural isolation from land-attacks. By the middle of the 17th century the growing power of the Dutch Empire forced the English to acquire a station in western India. On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, placed the islands in possession of the English Empire, as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles.88 However, Salsette, Bassein, Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala still remained under Portuguese possession. From 1665 to 1666, the English managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala.89 In accordance with the Royal Charter of 27 March 1668, England leased these islands to the English East India Company in 1668 for a sum of £10 per annum.90 The population quickly rose from 10,000 in 1661, to 60,000 in 1675.91 The islands were subsequently attacked by Yakut Khan, the Siddi admiral of the Mughal Empire, in October 1672,92 Rickloffe van Goen, the Governor-General of Dutch India on 20 February 1673,93 and Siddi admiral Sambal on 10 October 1673.92 In 1687, the English East India Company transferred its headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The city eventually became the headquarters of the Bombay Presidency.94 Following the transfer, Bombay was placed at the head of all the company's establishments in India.95 Towards the end of the 17th century, the islands again suffered incursions from Yakut Khan in 1689–90.96 The Portuguese presence ended in Bombay when the Marathas under Peshwa Baji Rao I captured Salsette in 1737, and Bassein in 1739.97 By the middle of the 18th century, Bombay began to grow into a major trading town, and received a huge influx of migrants from across India.98 Later, the British occupied Salsette on 28 December 1774. With the Treaty of Surat (1775), the British formally gained control of Salsette and Bassein, resulting in the First Anglo-Maratha War.99 The British were able to secure Salsette from the Marathas without violence through the Treaty of Purandar(1776),100 and later through the Treaty of Salbai (1782), signed to settle the outcome of the First Anglo-Maratha War.101 From 1782 onwards, the city was reshaped with large-scale civil engineering projects aimed at merging all the seven islands into a single amalgamated mass. This project, known as Hornby Vellard, was completed by 1784.22 In 1817, the British East India Company under Mountstuart Elphinstone defeated Baji Rao II, the last of the Maratha Peshwa in the Battle of Khadki.102 Following his defeat, almost the whole of the Deccan came under British suzerainty, and was incorporated into the Bombay Presidency. The success of the British campaign in the Deccan marked the end of all attacks by native powers.103 By 1845, the seven islands coalesced into a single landmass by the Hornby Vellard project via large scale land reclamation.23104 On 16 April 1853, India's first passenger railway line was established, connecting Bombay to the neighbouring town of Thana (now Thane).105During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the city became the world's chief cotton-trading market, resulting in a boom in the economy that subsequently enhanced the city's stature.106 The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 transformed Bombay into one of the largest seaports on the Arabian Sea.107 In September 1896, Bombay was hit by a bubonic plague epidemic where the death toll was estimated at 1,900 people per week.108 About 850,000 people fled Bombay and the textile industry was adversely affected.109 As the capital of the Bombay Presidency, the city witnessed the Indian independence movement, with the Quit India Movement in 1942 and The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny in 1946 being its most notable events.110111 Independent India After India's independence in 1947, the territory of the Bombay Presidency retained by India was restructured into Bombay State. The area of Bombay State increased, after several erstwhile princely states that joined the Indian union were integrated into the state. Subsequently, the city became the capital of Bombay State.112 On April 1950, Municipal limits of Bombay were expanded by merging the Bombay Suburban District and Bombay City to form the Greater Bombay Municipal Corporation.113 The Samyukta Maharashtra movement to create a separate Maharashtra state including Bombay was at its height in the 1950s. In the Lok Sabha discussions in 1955, the Congress party demanded that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state.114 The States Reorganisation Committee recommended a bilingual state for Maharashtra–Gujarat with Bombay as its capital in its 1955 report. Bombay Citizens' Committee, an advocacy group of leading Gujarati industrialists lobbied for Bombay's independent status.115 Following protests during the movement in which 105 people lost their lives in clashes with the police, Bombay State was reorganised on linguistic lines on 1 May 1960.116 Gujarati-speaking areas of Bombay State were partitioned into the state of Gujarat.117 Maharashtra State with Bombay as its capital was formed with the merger of Marathi-speaking areas of Bombay State, eight districts from Central Provinces and Berar, five districts from Hyderabad State, and numerous princely states enclosed between them.118 As a memorial to the martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, Flora Fountain was renamed as Hutatma Chowk (Martyr's Square), and a memorial was erected.119 The following decades saw massive expansion of the city and its suburbs. In the late 1960s, Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade were reclaimed and developed.120 The Bombay Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) was established on 26 January 1975 by the Government of Maharashtra as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of development activities in the Bombay metropolitan region.121 In August 1979, a sister township of New Bombay was founded by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) across the Thane and Raigad districts to help the dispersal and control of Bombay's population. The textile industry in Bombay largely disappeared after the widespread 1982 Great Bombay Textile Strike, in which nearly 250,000 workers in more than 50 textile mills went on strike.122 Mumbai's defunct cotton mills have since become the focus of intense redevelopment.123124 The Jawaharlal Nehru Port, which currently handles 55–60% of India's containerised cargo, was commissioned on 26 May 1989 across the creek at Nhava Sheva with a view to de-congest Bombay Harbour and to serve as a hub port for the city.125 The geographical limits of Greater Bombay were coextensive with municipal limits of Greater Bombay. On 1 October 1990, the Greater Bombay district was bifurcated to form two revenue districts namely, Bombay City and Bombay Suburban, though they continued to be administered by same Municipal Administration.126 From 1990 to 2010, there has been an increase in violence in the hitherto largely peaceful city. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the city was rocked by the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992–93 in which more than 1,000 people were killed. On 12 March 1993, a series of 13 co-ordinated bombings at several city landmarks by Islamic extremists and the Bombay underworld resulted in 257 deaths and over 700 injuries.127In 2006, 209 people were killed and over 700 injured when seven bombs exploded on the city's commuter trains.128 In 2008, a series of ten coordinated attacks by armed terrorists for three days resulted in 173 deaths, 308 injuries, and severe damage to several heritage landmarks and prestigious hotels.129 The blasts that occurred at the Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar, and Dadar on 13 July 2011 were the latest in the series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai.130 Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a global financial hub.131 For several decades it has been the home of India's main financial services, and a focus for both infrastructure development and private investment.132 From being an ancient fishing community and a colonial centre of trade, Mumbai has become South Asia's largest city and home of the world's most prolific film industry.133 Geography Mumbai consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district, which form two separate revenue districts of Maharashtra.134 The city district region is also commonly referred to as the Island City or South Mumbai.27 The total area of Mumbai is 603.4 km2(233 sq mi).135 Of this, the island city spans 67.79 km2 (26 sq mi), while the suburban district spans 370 km2 (143 sq mi), together accounting for 437.71 km2 (169 sq mi) under the administration of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The remaining areas belong to various Defence establishments, the Mumbai Port Trust, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Borivali National Park, which are out of the jurisdiction of the MCGM.136 The Mumbai Metropolitan Region which includes portions of Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts in addition to Greater Mumbai, covers an area of 4,355 km2 (1681.5 sq mi).6 Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the Konkan. It sits on Salsette Island(Sashti Island), which it partially shares with the Thane district.137 Mumbai is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west.138 Many parts of the city lie just above sea level, with elevations ranging from 10 m (33 ft) to 15 m (49 ft);139 the city has an average elevation of 14 m (46 ft).140 Northern Mumbai (Salsette) is hilly,141 and the highest point in the city is 450 m (1,476 ft) at Salsette in the Powai–Kanheri ranges.142 The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali National Park) is located partly in the Mumbai suburban district, and partly in the Thane district, and it extends over an area of 103.09 km2 (39.80 sq mi).143 Apart from the Bhatsa Dam, there are six major lakes that supply water to the city: Vihar, Lower Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, Tulsi, Tansa and Powai. Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake are located in Borivili National Park, within the city's limits. The supply from Powai lake, also within the city limits, is used only for agricultural and industrial purposes.144 Three small rivers, the Dahisar River, Poinsar (or Poisar) and Ohiwara (or Oshiwara) originate within the park, while the polluted Mithi River originates from Tulsi Lake and gathers water overflowing from Vihar and Powai Lakes.145 The coastline of the city is indented with numerous creeks and bays, stretching from the Thane creek on the eastern to Madh Marve on the western front.146 The eastern coast of Salsette Island is covered with large mangroveswamps, rich in biodiversity, while the western coast is mostly sandy and rocky.147 Soil cover in the city region is predominantly sandy due to its proximity to the sea. In the suburbs, the soil cover is largely alluvial and loamy.148 The underlying rock of the region is composed of black Deccan basalt flows, and their acidic and basic variants dating back to the late Cretaceous and early Eocene eras.149 Mumbai sits on a seismically active zone owing to the presence of 23 fault lines in the vicinity.150 The area is classified as a Seismic Zone III region,151 which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter magnitude scale may be expected.152 Climate Mumbai has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw) under the Köppen climate classification, with seven months of dryness and peak of rains in July.153 The cooler season from December to February is followed by the summer season from March to June. The period from June to about the end of September constitutes the south-west monsoon season, and October and November form the post-monsoon season.154 Between June and September, the south west monsoon rains lash the city. Pre-monsoon showers are received in May. Occasionally, north-east monsoon showers occur in October and November. The maximum annual rainfall ever recorded was 3,452 mm (136 in) for 1954.155The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was 944 mm (37 in) on 26 July 2005.156 The average total annual rainfall is 2,146.6 mm (85 in) for the Island City, and 2,457 mm (97 in) for the suburbs.155 The average annual temperature is 27.2 °C (81 °F), and the average annual precipitation is 2,167 mm (85 in).157 In the Island City, the average maximum temperature is 31.2 °C (88 °F), while the average minimum temperature is 23.7 °C (75 °F). In the suburbs, the daily mean maximum temperature range from 29.1 °C (84 °F) to 33.3 °C (92 °F), while the daily mean minimum temperature ranges from 16.3 °C (61 °F) to 26.2 °C (79 °F).155 The record high is 42.2 °C (108 °F) set on 14 April 1952,158 and the record low is 7.4 °C (45 °F) set on 27 January 1962.158159 Air pollution Air pollution is a major issue in Mumbai.162163164 According to the 2016 World Health Organization Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database,165 the annual average PM2.5concentration in 2013 was 63 μg/m3, which is 6.3 times higher than that recommended by the WHO Air Quality Guidelines166 for the annual mean PM2.5. The Central Pollution Control Board for the Government of India and the Consulate General of the United States, Mumbai monitor and publicly share real-time air quality data.167168 Economy Mumbai is India's largest city (by population) and is the financial and commercial capital of the country as it generates 6.16% of the total GDP.27131169 It serves as an economic hub of India, contributing 10% of factory employment, 25% of industrial output, 33% of income taxcollections, 60% of customs duty collections, 20% of central excise tax collections, 40% of India's foreign trade and ₹4,000 crore(US$620 million) in corporate taxes.170 Along with the rest of India, Mumbai has witnessed an economic boom since the liberalisation of 1991, the finance boom in the mid-nineties and the IT, export, services and outsourcing boom in 2000s.171 Although Mumbai had prominently figured as the hub of economic activity of India in the 1990s, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is presently witnessing a reduction in its contribution to India's GDP.172 As of 2015, Mumbai's metro area GDP (PPP) was estimated at $368 billion.9 Many of India's numerous conglomerates (including Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Tata Group, Godrej and Reliance),131 and five of the Fortune Global 500 companies are based in Mumbai.173 This is facilitated by the presence of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), and financial sector regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).172 Until the 1970s, Mumbai owed its prosperity largely to textile mills and the seaport, but the local economy has since then diversified to include finance, engineering, diamond-polishing, healthcare and information technology.174 The key sectors contributing to the city's economy are: finance, gems & jewellery, leather processing, IT and ITES, textiles, and entertainment. Nariman Point and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are Mumbai's major financial centres.172 Despite competition from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, Mumbai has carved a niche for itself in the information technology industry. The Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) and the International Infotech Park (Navi Mumbai) offer excellent facilities to IT companies.175 State and central government employees make up a large percentage of the city's workforce. Mumbai also has a large unskilled and semi-skilled self-employed population, who primarily earn their livelihood as hawkers, taxi drivers, mechanics and other such blue collar professions. The port and shipping industry is well established, with Mumbai Port being one of the oldest and most significant ports in India.176 Dharavi, in central Mumbai, has an increasingly large recycling industry, processing recyclable waste from other parts of the city; the district has an estimated 15,000 single-room factories.177 Mumbai has been ranked sixth among top ten global cities on the billionaire count with 28178 and 46000 millionaires, with total wealth around $820 billion179 48th on the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index 2008,180 seventh in the list of "Top Ten Cities for Billionaires" by Forbes magazine (April 2008),181 and first in terms of those billionaires' average wealth.182 As of 2008, the Globalization and World Cities Study Group (GaWC) has ranked Mumbai as an "Alpha world city", third in its categories of Global cities.15 Mumbai is the third most expensive office market in the world, and was ranked among the fastest cities in the country for business startup in 2009.183 Civic administration Greater Mumbai, an area of 603 square kilometres (233 sq mi),184 consisting of the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts, extends from Colaba in the south, to Mulund and Dahisar in the north, and Mankhurd in the east. Its population as per the 2011 census was 12,442,373.185 It is administered by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) (sometimes referred to as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), formerly known as the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC).138 The MCGM is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis.186The Mayor is chosen through indirect election by the councillors from among themselves for a term of two and half years.187 The Municipal Commissioner is the chief Executive Officer and head of the executive arm of the Municipal Corporation. All executive powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner who is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer appointed by the state government. Although the Municipal Corporation is the legislative body that lays down policies for the governance of the city, it is the Commissioner who is responsible for the execution of the policies. The Commissioner is appointed for a fixed term as defined by state statute. The powers of the Commissioner are those provided by statute and those delegated by the Corporation or the Standing Committee.188 The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai was ranked 9th out of 21 Cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.5 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.189 The two revenue districts of Mumbai come under the jurisdiction of a District Collector. The Collectors are in charge of property records and revenue collection for the Central Government, and oversee the national elections held in the city. The Mumbai Police is headed by a Police Commissioner, who is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The Mumbai Police is a division of the Maharashtra Police, under the state Home Ministry.190 The city is divided into seven police zones and seventeen traffic police zones,136 each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police.191 The Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Mumbai Police. The Mumbai Fire Brigade, under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation, is headed by the Chief Fire Officer, who is assisted by four Deputy Chief Fire Officers and six Divisional Officers.136 The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority(MMRDA) is responsible for infrastructure development and planning of Mumbai Metropolitan Region.192 Mumbai is the seat of the Bombay High Court, which exercises jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra and Goa, and the Union Territoriesof Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.193 Mumbai also has two lower courts, the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. Mumbai also has a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court for people accused of conspiring and abetting acts of terrorism in the city.194 Politics Mumbai had been a traditional stronghold and birthplace of the Indian National Congress, also known as the Congress Party.195 The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay from 28–31 December 1885.196 The city played host to the Indian National Congress six times during its first 50 years, and became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the 20th century.197 The 1960s saw the rise of regionalist politics in Bombay, with the formation of the Shiv Sena on 19 June 1966, out of a feeling of resentment about the relative marginalisation of the native Marathi people in Bombay.198 Shiv Sena switched from 'Marathi Cause' to larger 'Hindutva Cause' in 1985 and joined hands with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in same year.199 The Congress had dominated the politics of Bombay from independence until the early 1980s, when the Shiv Sena won the 1985 Bombay Municipal Corporation elections.200 In 1989, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a major national political party, forged an electoral alliance with the Shiv Sena to dislodge the Congress in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. In 1999, several members left the Congress to form the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) but later allied with the Congress as part of an alliance known as the Democratic Front.201 Currently, other parties such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and several independent candidates also contest elections in the city.202 In the Indian national elections held every five years, Mumbai is represented by six parliamentary constituencies: North, North West, North East, North Central, South Central, and South.203 A Member of parliament (MP) to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, is elected from each of the parliamentary constituencies. In the 2014 national elections, all six parliamentary constituencies were won by the BJP and Shiv Sena in alliance, with both parties winning three seats each.204 In the Maharashtra state assembly elections held every five years, Mumbai is represented by 36 assembly constituencies.205206 A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) is elected from each of the assembly constituencies. In the 2014 state assembly elections, out of the 36 assembly constituencies, 15 were won by the BJP, 14 by the Shiv Sena and 5 by the Congress.207208 Elections are also held every five years to elect corporators to power in the MCGM.209 The Corporation comprises 227 directly elected Councillors representing the 24 municipal wards, five nominated Councillors having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration, and a Mayor whose role is mostly ceremonial.210211212 In the 2012 municipal corporation elections, out of the 227 seats, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance secured 107 seats, holding power with the support of independent candidates in the MCGM, while the Congress-NCP alliance bagged 64 seats.213 The tenure of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Municipal Commissioner is two and a half years.214 Transport Public transport Public transport systems in Mumbai include the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Monorail, Metro, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport(BEST) buses, black-and-yellow meter taxis, auto rickshaws and ferries. Suburban railway and BEST bus services together accounted for about 88% of the passenger traffic in 2008.216 Auto rickshaws are allowed to operate only in the suburban areas of Mumbai, while taxis are allowed to operate throughout Mumbai, but generally operate in South Mumbai.217 Taxis and rickshaws in Mumbai are required by law to run on compressed natural gas (CNG),218 and are a convenient, economical, and easily available means of transport.217 Rail The Mumbai Suburban Railway, popularly referred to as Locals forms the backbone of the city's transport system.219 It is operated by the Central Railway and Western Railway zones of the Indian Railways.220 Mumbai's suburban rail systems carried a total of 6.3 million passengers every day in 2007.221 Trains are overcrowded during peak hours, with nine-car trains of rated capacity 1,700 passengers, actually carrying around 4,500 passengers at peak hours.222 The Mumbai rail network is spread at an expanse of 319 route kilometres. 191 rakes (train-sets) of 9 car and 12 car composition are utilised to run a total of 2,226 train services in the city.223 The Mumbai Monorail and Mumbai Metro have been built and are being extended in phases to relieve overcrowding on the existing network. The Monorail opened in early February 2014.224 The first line of the Mumbai Metro opened in early June 2014.225 A distance of 1,669km from Chennai, 1,623 jmfromtiruvallur . Mumbai is the headquarters of two zones of the Indian Railways: the Central Railway (CR) headquartered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus(formerly Victoria Terminus), and the Western Railway (WR) headquartered at Churchgate.226 Mumbai is also well connected to most parts of India by the Indian Railways. Long-distance trains originate from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Andheri and Borivali.227 Bus Mumbai's bus services carried over 5.5 million passengers per day in 2008,216 which dropped to 2.8 million in 2015.228 Public buses run by BEST cover almost all parts of the metropolis, as well as parts of Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Thane.229 The BEST operates a total of 4,608 buses230 with CCTV cameras installed, ferrying 4.5 million passengers daily216 over 390 routes. Its fleet consists of single-decker, double-decker, vestibule, low-floor, disabled-friendly, air-conditioned and Euro III compliant diesel and compressed natural gas powered buses.231 BEST introduced air-conditioned buses in 1998.232 BEST buses are red in colour, based originally on the Routemaster buses of London.233 Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC, also known as ST)234 buses provide intercity transport connecting Mumbai with other towns and cities of Maharashtra and nearby states.235236 The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) and Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) also operate their buses in Mumbai, connecting various nodes of Navi Mumbai and Thane to parts of Mumbai.237238 Buses are generally favoured for commuting short to medium distances, while train fares are more economical for longer distance commutes.239 The Mumbai Darshan is a tourist bus service which explores numerous tourist attractions in Mumbai.240 Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) lanes have been planned throughout Mumbai.241 Though 88% of the city's commuters travel by public transport, Mumbai still continues to struggle with traffic congestion.242 Mumbai's transport system has been categorised as one of the most congested in the world.243 Water Water transport in Mumbai consists of ferries, hovercrafts and catamarans. Services are provided by both government agencies as well as private partners.244 Hovercraft services plied briefly in the late 1990s between the Gateway of India and CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai. They were subsequently scrapped due to lack of adequate infrastructure.245 Road Mumbai is served by National Highway 3, National Highway 4, National Highway 8, National Highway 17 and National Highway 222 of India's National Highways system.246 The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was the first expressway built in India.247 The Eastern Freeway was opened in 2013. The Mumbai Nashik Expressway, Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway,248 are under construction. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge, along with Mahim Causeway, links the island city to the western suburbs.249 The three major road arteries of the city are the Eastern Express Highway from Sion to Thane, the Sion Panvel Expressway from Sion to Panvel and the Western Express Highway from Bandra to Dahisar.250Mumbai has approximately 1,900 km (1,181 mi) of roads.251 There are five tolled entry points to the city by road.252 Mumbai had about 721,000 private vehicles as of March 2014,253 56,459 black and yellow taxis as of 2005,254 and 106,000 auto rickshaws, as of May 2013.255 Air The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport) is the main aviation hub in the city and the second busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic.256 It handled 36.6 million passengers and 694,300 tonnes of cargo during FY 2014–2015.257An upgrade plan was initiated in 2006, targeted at increasing the capacity of the airport to handle up to 40 million passengers annually258and the new terminal T2 was opened in February 2014.259 The proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport to be built in the Kopra-Panvel area has been sanctioned by the Indian Government and will help relieve the increasing traffic burden on the existing airport.260 The Juhu Aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts the Bombay Flying Club and a heliport operated by state-owned Pawan Hans.261 Sea Mumbai is served by two major ports, Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which lies just across the creek in Navi Mumbai.262 Mumbai Port has one of the best natural harbours in the world, and has extensive wet and dry dock accommodation facilities.263 Jawaharlal Nehru Port, commissioned on 26 May 1989, is the busiest and most modern major port in India.264 It handles 55–60% of the country's total containerised cargo.265 Ferries from Ferry Wharf in Mazagaon allow access to islands near the city.266 The city is also the headquarters of the Western Naval Command, and also an important base for the Indian Navy.138 Utility services Under colonial rule, tanks were the only source of water in Mumbai, with many localities having been named after them. The MCGM supplies potable water to the city from six lakes,267268 most of which comes from the Tulsi and Vihar lakes. The Tansa lake supplies water to the western suburbs and parts of the island city along the Western Railway.269The water is filtered at Bhandup,269 which is Asia's largest water filtration plant.270271272 India's first underground water tunnel was completed in Mumbai to supply water to the Bhandup filtration plant.273274 About 700 million litres of water, out of a daily supply of 3500 million litres, is lost by way of water thefts, illegal connections and leakages, per day in Mumbai.275 Almost all of Mumbai's daily refuse of 7,800 metric tonnes, of which 40 metric tonnes is plastic waste,276 is transported to dumping grounds in Gorai in the northwest, Mulund in the northeast, and to the Deonar dumping ground in the east.277 Sewage treatment is carried out at Worli and Bandra, and disposed of by two independent marine outfalls of 3.4 km (2.1 mi) and 3.7 km (2.3 mi) at Bandra and Worli respectively.278 Electricity is distributed by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking in the island city, and by Reliance Energy, Tata Power, and the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (Mahavitaran) in the suburbs.279 Consumption of electricity is growing faster than production capacity.280 Power supply cables are underground, which reduces pilferage, thefts and other losses.281282 Cooking gas is supplied in the form of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders sold by state-owned oil companies,283 as well as through piped natural gas supplied by Mahanagar Gas Limited.284 The largest telephone service provider is the state-owned MTNL, which held a monopoly over fixed line and cellular services up until 2000, and provides fixed line as well as mobile WLL services.285 Mobile phone coverage is extensive, and the main service providers are Vodafone Essar, Airtel, MTNL, Loop Mobile, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular and Tata Indicom. Both GSM and CDMA services are available in the city.286 Mumbai, along with the area served by telephone exchanges in Navi Mumbai and Kalyan is classified as a Metro telecom circle.287 Many of the above service providers also provide broadband internet and wireless internet access in Mumbai. As of 2014, Mumbai had the highest number of internet users in India with 16.4 million users.288 Architecture The architecture of the city is a blend of Gothic Revival, Indo-Saracenic, Art Deco, and other contemporary styles. Most of the buildings during the British period, such as the Victoria Terminus and Bombay University, were built in Gothic Revival style.289 Their architectural features include a variety of European influences such as German gables, Dutch roofs, Swiss timbering, Romance arches, Tudor casements, and traditional Indian features.290 There are also a few Indo-Saracenic styled buildings such as the Gateway of India.291 Art Deco styled landmarks can be found along the Marine Drive and west of the Oval Maidan. Mumbai has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami. In the newer suburbs, modern buildings dominate the landscape. Mumbai has by far the largest number of skyscrapers in India, with 956 existing buildings and 272 under construction as of 2009. The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), established in 1995, formulates special regulations and by-laws to assist in the conservation of the city's heritage structures. Mumbai has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Elephanta Caves.292 In the south of Mumbai, there are colonial-era buildings and Soviet-style offices.293 In the east are factories and some slums. On the West coast are former-textile mills being demolished and skyscrapers built on top. There are 31 buildings taller than 100 m, compared with 200 in Shanghai, 500 in Hong Kong and 500 in New York.293 Demographics Population growth * 1971 - 5 million * 1981 - 8 million * 1991 - 9 million * 2001 - 11 million * 2011 - 12 million According to the 2011 census, the population of Mumbai city was 12,479,608. The population density is estimated to be about 20,482 persons per square kilometre. The living space is 4.5sq metre per person.296 Mumbai Metropolitan Region was home to 20,748,395 people by 2011.8 As Per 2011 census, Greater Mumbai, the area under the administration of the MCGM, has a literacy rate of 94.7%, higher than the national average of 86.7%. The number of slum-dwellers is estimated to be 9 million, up from 6 million in 2001,297 that is, 62% of all Mumbaikars live in informal slums. The sex ratio in 2011 was 838 females per 1,000 males in the island city, 857 in the suburbs, and 848 as a whole in Greater Mumbai, all numbers lower than the national average of 914 females per 1,000 males. The low sex ratio is partly because of the large number of male migrants who come to the city to work.298 Residents of Mumbai call themselves Mumbaikar,54 Mumbaiite,299 Bombayite or Bombaiite. Mumbai has a large polyglot population like any other metropolitan city of India. Sixteen major languages of India are also spoken in Mumbai, most common being Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English.300 English is extensively spoken and is the principal language of the city's white collar workforce. A colloquial form of Hindi, known as Bambaiya – a blend of Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Konkani, Urdu, Indian English and some invented words – is spoken on the streets.301 Mumbai suffers from the same major urbanisation problems seen in many fast growing cities in developing countries: widespread poverty and unemployment, poor public health and poor civic and educational standards for a large section of the population. With available land at a premium, Mumbai residents often reside in cramped, relatively expensive housing, usually far from workplaces, and therefore requiring long commutes on crowded mass transit, or clogged roadways. Many of them live in close proximity to bus or train stations although suburban residents spend significant time travelling southward to the main commercial district.302 Dharavi, Asia's second largest slum (if Karachi's Orangi Town is counted as a single slum)303 is located in central Mumbai and houses between 800,000 and one million people304 in 2.39 square kilometres (0.92 sq mi), making it one of the most densely populated areas on Earth305 with a population density of at least 334,728 persons per square kilometre.[citation needed] The number of migrants to Mumbai from outside Maharashtra during the 1991–2001 decade was 1.12 million, which amounted to 54.8% of the net addition to the population of Mumbai.306 The number of households in Mumbai is forecast to rise from 4.2 million in 2008 to 6.6 million in 2020. The number of households with annual incomes of 2 million rupees will increase from 4% to 10% by 2020, amounting to 660,000 families. The number of households with incomes from 1–2 million rupees is also estimated to increase from 4% to 15% by 2020.307 According to Report of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) 2016 Mumbai is the noisiest city in India before Lucknow, Hyderabad and Delhi.308 Ethnic groups and religions The religious groups represented in Mumbai as of 2011 include Hindus (65.99%), Muslims (20.65%), Buddhists (4.85%), Jains(4.10%), Christians (3.27%),309310311 Sikhs (0.58%), with Parsis and Jews making up the rest of the population.309312 The linguistic/ethnic demographics are: Maharashtrians (42%), Gujaratis (19%), with the rest hailing from other parts of India.313 Native Christians include East Indian Catholics, who were converted by the Portuguese during the 16th century,314 while Goan and Mangalorean Catholics also constitute a significant portion of the Christian community of the city.315 Jews settled in Bombay during the 18th century. The Bene Israeli Jewish community of Bombay, who migrated from the Konkan villages, south of Bombay, are believed to be the descendants of the Jews of Israel who were shipwrecked off the Konkan coast, probably in the year 175 BCE, during the reign of the Greek ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes.316 Mumbai is also home to the largest population of Parsi Zoroastriansin the world,[citation needed] numbering about 60,000 though with a sharply declining population.317 Parsis migrated to India from Pars(Persia/Iran) following the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century.318 The oldest Muslim communities in Mumbai include the Dawoodi Bohras, Ismaili Khojas, and Konkani Muslims.319 * Hinduism - 65.99 % * Islam - 20.65 % * Buddhism - 4.85 % * Jainism - 4.10 % * Christianity 3.27 % * Others - 1.15 % Culture Mumbai's culture is a blend of traditional festivals, food, music, and theatres. The city offers a cosmopolitan and diverse lifestyle with a variety of food, entertainment, and night life, available in a form and abundance comparable to that in other world capitals. Mumbai's history as a major trading centre has led to a diverse range of cultures, religions, and cuisines coexisting in the city. This unique blend of cultures is due to the migration of people from all over India since the British period. Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian cinema320—Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundations with silent movies followed by Marathi talkies—and the oldest film broadcast took place in the early 20th century.321 Mumbai also has a large number of cinema halls that feature Bollywood, Marathi and Hollywood movies. The Mumbai International Film Festival322 and the award ceremony of the Filmfare Awards, the oldest and prominent film awards given for Hindi film industry in India, are held in Mumbai.323 Despite most of the professional theatre groups that formed during the British Raj having disbanded by the 1950s, Mumbai has developed a thriving "theatre movement" tradition in Marathi, Hindi, English, and other regional languages.324325 Contemporary art is featured in both government-funded art spaces and private commercial galleries. The government-funded institutions include the Jehangir Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Modern Art. Built in 1833, the Asiatic Society of Bombay is one of the oldest public libraries in the city.326 The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya(formerly The Prince of Wales Museum) is a renowned museum in South Mumbai which houses rare ancient exhibits of Indian history.327 Mumbai has a zoo named Jijamata Udyaan (formerly Victoria Gardens), which also harbours a garden. The rich literary traditions of the city have been highlighted internationally by Booker Prize winners Salman Rushdie, Aravind Adiga. Marathi literature has been modernised in the works of Mumbai-based authors such as Mohan Apte, Anant Kanekar, and Gangadhar Gadgil, and is promoted through an annual Sahitya Akademi Award, a literary honour bestowed by India's National Academy of Letters.328 Mumbai residents celebrate both Western and Indian festivals. Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas, Navratri, Good Friday, Dussera, Moharram, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Maha Shivratri are some of the popular festivals in the city. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an exhibition of a world of arts that encapsulates works of artists in the fields of music, dance, theatre, and films.329 A week-long annual fair known as Bandra Fair, starting on the following Sunday after 8 September, is celebrated by people of all faiths, to commemorate the Nativity of Mary, mother of Jesus, on 8 September.330 The Banganga Festival is a two-day music festival, held annually in the month of January, which is organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) at the historic Banganga Tank in Mumbai.331332 The Elephanta Festival—celebrated every February on the Elephanta Islands—is dedicated to classical Indian dance and music and attracts performers from across the country.331333 Public holidays specific to the city and the state include Maharashtra Day on 1 May, to celebrate the formation of Maharashtra state on 1 May 1960,334335 and Gudi Padwa which is the New Year's Day for Marathi people. Beaches are a major tourist attraction in the city. The major beaches in Mumbai are Girgaum Chowpatty, Juhu Beach, Dadar Chowpatty, Gorai Beach, Marve Beach, Versova Beach, Madh Beach, Aksa Beach, and Manori Beach.336 Most of the beaches are unfit for swimming, except Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Beach.337 Essel World is a theme park and amusement centre situated close to Gorai Beach,338 and includes Asia's largest theme water park, Water Kingdom.339 Adlabs Imagica opened in April 2013 is located near the city of Khopoli off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.340 Media Mumbai has numerous newspaper publications, television and radio stations. Marathi dailies enjoy the maximum readership share in the city and the top Marathi language newspapers are Maharashtra Times, Navakaal, Lokmat, Loksatta, Mumbai Chaufer, Saamana and Sakaal.342Popular Marathi language magazines are Saptahik Sakaal, Grihashobhika, Lokrajya, Lokprabha & Chitralekha.343 Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Mumbai include The Times of India, Mid-day, Hindustan Times, DNA India, and The Indian Express. Newspapers are also printed in other Indian languages.344 Mumbai is home to Asia's oldest newspaper, Bombay Samachar, which has been published in Gujarati since 1822.345 Bombay Durpan, the first Marathi newspaper, was started by Balshastri Jambhekar in Mumbai in 1832.346 Numerous Indian and international television channels can be watched in Mumbai through one of the Pay TV companies or the local cable television provider. The metropolis is also the hub of many international media corporations, with many news channels and print publications having a major presence. The national television broadcaster, Doordarshan, provides two free terrestrial channels, while three main cable networks serve most households.347 The wide range of cable channels available includes Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, ETV Marathi, Star Pravah, Mi Marathi, DD Sahyadri (All Marathi channels), news channels such as ABP Majha, IBN-Lokmat, Zee 24 Taas, sports channels like ESPN, Star Sports, National entertainment channels like Colors, Sony, Zee TV and Star Plus, business news channels like CNBC Awaaz, Zee Business, ET Now and Bloomberg UTV. News channels entirely dedicated to Mumbai include Sahara Samay Mumbai. Zing a popular Bollywood gossip channel is also based out of Mumbai. Satellite television (DTH) has yet to gain mass acceptance, due to high installation costs.348 Prominent DTH entertainment services in Mumbai include Dish TV and Tata Sky.349 There are twelve radio stations in Mumbai, with nine broadcasting on the FM band, and three All India Radio stations broadcasting on the AM band.350 Mumbai also has access to Commercial radio providers such as Sirius. The Conditional Access System (CAS) started by the Union Government in 2006 met a poor response in Mumbai due to competition from its sister technology Direct-to-Home (DTH) transmission service.351 Bollywood, the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, produces around 150–200 films every year.352 The name Bollywood is a blend of Bombay and Hollywood.353 The 2000s saw a growth in Bollywood's popularity overseas. This led filmmaking to new heights in terms of quality, cinematography and innovative story lines as well as technical advances such as special effects and animation.354 Studios in Goregaon, including Film City, are the location for most movie sets.355 The city also hosts the Marathi film industry which has seen increased popularity in recent years, and TV production companies. Education Schools Schools in Mumbai are either "municipal schools" (run by the MCGM) or private schools (run by trusts or individuals), which in some cases receive financial aid from the government.356 The schools are affiliated with either of the following boards * Maharashtra State Board (MSBSHSE) * The All-India Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) * The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) * The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) * The International Baccalaureate (IB) * The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).357 Marathi or English is the usual language of instruction.358 The primary education system of the MCGM is the largest urban primary education system in Asia. The MCGM operates 1,188 primary schools imparting primary education to 485,531 students in eight languages (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, English, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada). The MCGM also imparts secondary education to 55,576 students through its 49 secondary schools.359 Higher education Under the 10+2+3/4 plan, students complete ten years of schooling and then enroll for two years in junior college, where they select one of three streams: arts, commerce, or science.360 This is followed by either a general degree course in a chosen field of study, or a professional degree course, such as law, engineering and medicine.361 Most colleges in the city are affiliated with the University of Mumbai, one of the largest universities in the world in terms of the number of graduates.362 The University of Mumbai is one of the premier363 universities in India. It was ranked 41 among the Top 50 Engineering Schools of the world by America's news broadcasting firm Business Insider in 2012 and was the only university in the list from the five emerging BRICS nations viz Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.364 Moreover, the University of Mumbai was ranked 5th in the list of best Universities in India by India Today in 2013365 and ranked at 62 in the QS BRICS University rankings for 2013, a ranking of leading universities in the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).366 Its strongest scores in the QS University Rankings: BRICS are for papers per faculty (8th), employer reputation (20th) and citations per paper (28th).367 It was ranked 10th among the top Universities of India by QS in 2013.367 With 7 of the top ten Indian Universities being purely science and technology universities, it was India's 3rd best Multi Disciplinary University in the QS University ranking.367 The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay),368 Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly UDCT / UICT)369, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI),370 which are India's premier engineering and technology schools, along with SNDT Women's University are the autonomous universities located in Mumbai.371 Thadomal Shahani Engineering College is the first and the oldest private engineering college affiliated to the federal University of Mumbai and is also pioneered to be the first institute in the city's university to offer undergraduate level courses in Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology.372 Grant Medical Collegeestablished in 1845 and Seth G.S. Medical College are the leading medical institutes affiliated with Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals and KEM Hospital respectively. Mumbai is also home to National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and several other management schools.373 Government Law College and Sydenham College, respectively the oldest law and commerce colleges in India, are based in Mumbai.374375 The Sir J. J. School of Art is Mumbai's oldest art institution.376 Mumbai is home to two prominent research institutions: the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).377 The BARC operates CIRUS, a 40 MW nuclear research reactor at their facility in Trombay.378 Sports Cricket is more popular than any other sport in the city. Due to a shortage of grounds, various modified versions (generally referred to as gully cricket) are played everywhere. Mumbai is also home to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)379 and Indian Premier League(IPL).380 The Mumbai cricket team represents the city in the Ranji Trophy and has won 40 titles, the most by any team.381 The city is also represented by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The city has two international cricket grounds, the Wankhede Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium. The first cricket test match in India was played in Mumbai at the Bombay Gymkhana.382 The biggest cricketing event to be staged in the city so far is the final of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup which was played at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai and London are the only two cities to have hosted both a World Cup final and the final of an ICC Champions Trophy which was played at the Brabourne Stadium in 2006.383 Football is another popular sport in the city, with the FIFA World Cup and the English Premier League being followed widely.384 In the Indian Super League, Mumbai City FC represents the city; while in the I-League (matches in the city are played at the Cooperage Ground), the city is represented by two teams: Mumbai FC385 and Air-India.386 When the Elite Football League of India was introduced in August 2011, Mumbai was noted as one of eight cities to be awarded a team for the inaugural season. Named the Mumbai Gladiators, the team's first season was played in Pune in late 2012,387 and it will be Mumbai's first professional American football franchise.388 In Hockey, Mumbai is home to the Mumbai Marines and Mumbai Magicians in the World Series Hockey and Hockey India League respectively. Matches in the city are played at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium.389390 Rugby is another growing sport in Mumbai with league matches being held at the Bombay Gymkhana from June to November.391 Every February, Mumbai holds derby races at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Mcdowell's Derby is also held in February at the Turf Club in Mumbai.392 In March 2004, the Mumbai Grand Prix was part of the F1 powerboat world championship,393 and the Force India F1 team car was unveiled in the city, in 2008.394 The city is planning to build its own F1 track and various sites in the city were being chalked out, of which the authorities have planned to zero down on Marve-Malad or Panvel-Kalyan land. If approved, the track will be clubbed with a theme park and will spread over an area of some 160 to 200 ha (400 to 500 acres).395 In 2004, the annual Mumbai Marathon was established as a part of "The Greatest Race on Earth". Mumbai had also played host to the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, an International Series tournament of the ATP World Tour, in 2006 and 2007.396 Category:Cities